Spirit of Cardiff is now out of the water at the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club. Following the usual run of Spirit weather, Alan and I have stiff head seas to contend with on the 35 mile run round from St John's Harbour to Conception Bay. The boat will be serviced and readied for a transatlantic crossing, which we're looking for some time in a couple of months. Original Spirit of Cardiff second in command Jan Falkowski is on standby to help crew the boat.

Whilst being treated to lunch at the yacht club, we prove once again how Spirit of Cardiff has shrunk the world. We meet Lorraine Vardy, sister of Jim, skipper of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police catamaran which stopped us off Vancouver Island back in June. "Jim told me to watch out for you," says Lorraine. "He told me you guys were nuts!"

The main news of the day is that Steve's tests to determine the extent of the damage caused by his heart attack are being carried out on Friday. Naturally, we're keeping our fingers crossed that they result in his being discharged over the weekend, and that he may be able to travel home next week.

In the meantime, this is the last of the regular updates. I am flying home on Friday, as there is nothing more I can do in St John's. But do keep checking the web site for further news.

Clive Tully

Copyright Clive Tully ©2002
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